Frequently Asked Questions
What is a case control study?
Case control studies compare patients who have a disease or outcome (cases) with those who do not (control group). Researchers examine the differences in exposures or behaviours to establish possible causes.
By starting with the outcome and reasoning backward, this approach is particularly well-suited to studying rare conditions without waiting years for them to develop. Its main limitation is recall bias, or the tendency for people to remember their past habits inaccurately, which can distort the findings.